Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

France has been hit by a third devastating terrorist attack within 18 months.

A large white truck driven by Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel mowed through a crowd of revellers gathered for a Bastille Day fireworks display in the Riviera city of Nice, killing at least 84 and leaving what one witness said was "bodies everywhere".

Police shot dead the French-Tunisian national driver after he barrelled the truck two kilometres (1.3 miles) through the crowd and then started firing his pistol at men, women and children.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump described the attack as "war", taking to Twitter he wrote: "Another horrific attack, this time in Nice, France. Many dead and injured. When will we learn?"

In an interview with Fox News Trump said: "this is war", adding that if he were to enter the White House, he would declare war on the Islamic State terror group. No organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Another horrific attack, this time in Nice, France. Many dead and injured. When will we learn? It is only getting worse.

Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, described it as a threat to Western civilisation. He tweeted: “Today’s terrorist attack in France is a horrific reminder of the threat facing Western civilization. This must end.”

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Front party used similar terms, criticising the country's response to past attacks. Le Pen, who is widely expected to do well in next year's presidential election, wrote: "The war on the scourge of Islamist fundamentalism has not begun. It is urgent now that it be declared,"on Twitter.

As with the attacks in Paris last November and those in Brussels in March, the latest atrocity could deepen divisions within Europe over welcoming refugees from the Middle East, as well as accentuating the divide between the right and left in politics. Opinion polls show that Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, could win the first round of the French presidential election set for April and May 2017.

Middle East states and leading Muslim clerics united Friday in condemning the attack, calling for a joint struggle against extremism.

Sunni Islam's leading centre of learning, Al-Azhar, said the "vile terrorist attack" contradicted Islam and urged the world to unite efforts "to defeat terrorism and rid the world of its evil".

Tunisia said that the attacker, who police said held joint French-Tunisian citizenship, had committed an act of "extreme cowardice" and expressed solidarity with France against the "scourge of terrorism".

It also said it was opening a judicial inquiry into the attack.

Here is how newspapers in France, Britain and around the world reacted to the horror of another terror attack:

Nice Matin

The front page of Nice's local newspaper simply reads: "Carnage in Nice" with a picture of bodies strewn across the road.